


Wake up alone

by obviouslyelementary



Series: Final Fantasy XIV [14]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood Spoilers, Fix-It of Sorts, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, POV Third Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:28:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29219484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obviouslyelementary/pseuds/obviouslyelementary
Summary: She knew she would not wake up alone, and that... was all she wanted.
Relationships: Aymeric de Borel & Warrior of Light, Cid nan Garlond & Warrior of Light, Edmont de Fortemps & Warrior of Light, Hien Rijin & Warrior of Light, Lyse Hext & Warrior of Light, Raubahn Aldynn & Warrior of Light, Tataru Taru & Warrior of Light, Warrior of Light & Estinien Wyrmblood, Yugiri Mistwalker & Warrior of Light
Series: Final Fantasy XIV [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2029102
Kudos: 7





	Wake up alone

**Author's Note:**

> I think the scene after you defeat Zenos, when you wake up, was lacking of some important faces. It was cute, but could have been better. So here it is, my version of that scene, including some very emotional WOL. Enjoy!  
> (Friendship only)

If there was one thing she had not expected was to fall in battle.

She remembered the headache, the dizziness, the weakness that followed her battle with Zenos, or rather the Ascian taking over his body, and she remembered winning, only to have him rise again like nothing. It was not easy to fight a dead husk, let alone one filled with magic and strength as it was. But she was sure she would have defeated him again, and again, and again, if not for herself for her friends, the ones that were hurt around the battle field, the ones that she needed to save.

But she was weak, because of that damned voice inside her head, the one that had taken Thancred, then Urianger and Y'shtola, then Alphinaud and last but not least Alisaie, the one she had promised not to leave alone. Now, she was the one alone, without her friends, lost in the middle of a war, confused and wounded.

All this she thought before waking up, eyes blinking open to see a familiar roof above her head. Body aching, mind pounding, she rose slowly to a sitting position, rubbing her temples and taking a deep breath. It was like she had fought with a legion and lost, and that did not settle well with her. She did not even know if they had won, although it did not seem like she was in a tent somewhere hidden. In fact, she was pretty sure she laid nowhere else than the Alliance's headquarters, which meant the imperials hadn't even reached there. A soothing thought, she pondered, before looking around the room. It was small, but cozy, and she was alone, but not for long.

As she stared at the door, it opened, revealing two lalafells coming in, wearing white dresses. They found their glance in hers and squeaked, running out the door immediately, making the warrior of light frown slightly in confusion. Was something wrong? She made to leave the bed, but her arms and legs were weak, so she sighed and sat back down again, hoping the two nurses had left to bring someone else back in here for her to talk to.

Never she expected the reception she received.

"Krys!" she heard, the voice familiar, and turned her face towards the door only to be attacked by a bear hug, gasping and wrapping her arms around the attacker. Another look and she saw her golden hair, red clothes and strong arms. "By the gods you are awake!"

"Lyse, give her some room to breathe" she heard, eyes shifting to see Raubahn approaching the bed, a smile on his face. He too seemed relieved, although not as much as Lyse, who pulled away and sat down on the bed next to her, holding her hands. "Hello, my friend."

"What is..." she tried, unable to speak much more as the rest of the people came in. Aymeric, Estinien, Cid, Tataru, Hien, Yugiri, all of them made their way inside. Krys stared at them, confused, and then back at Lyse, for a moment, trying to remember what had happened. "What of Zenos?"

"He left, towards with Varis and the rest of the troops" Lyse said, and Krys noticed their hands were still intertwined. She looked up at the others, their faces showing nothing but relief, before Lyse was hugging her again with a sigh. "I am so glad you are alive! And all thanks to your dragoon friend, I gather."

"I was just in the right place, at the right time" Estinien replied, in his usual cold way, and Krys stared at him quietly, confused. Aymeric rushed in to explain.

"Zenos was about to use your weakened state to throw a fatal blow. Estinien appeared at the perfect time to distract him and allow us to take you back to safety. Why Zenos did not come after us, is beyond our knowing."

"After our loss, it was clear he could have won any battle he wanted against our forces. Yet, I am thankful he left when he did" Hien admitted, looking down for a moment and back at her, giving Krys a nod.

"As for me, I came as fast as I could. I could not leave such an old friend alone at a time like this" Cid explained, Tataru agreeing with him. Krys stared at them, at all of them, before she turned to Lyse, squeezing her hand gently.

"What of the Scions?" she whispered, and Lyse deflated a little, shaking her head.

"I spoke to Krile earlier, no change. They remain in a state of slumber, and she has found no way of knowing where they are. But I am sure she will, that we all will. We will find them."

Krys stared at her, for a moment, before she looked down, fighting her feelings away, pushing them down as hard as she could. Not only she had failed the Scions, her friends, but she had also failed the people around her, she had not defeated Zenos, she had allowed his tyranny to continue, and with an ascian in control, who could guess his next move? Varis was gone, with no intention of ending the war, and Emet-Selch, whoever that ascian was, seemed like a worst threat than any they had faced before.

And now, she would have to face it alone.

"Krys? Krys, are you alright?" she heard Lyse speak next to her, and felt anger, sadness, loneliness, despair, all at once. She could not hold it back anymore, the weight of all her deeds, all her losses coming back to hunt her, and a tear made its way down her face, dropping down on her leg in front of all the people she had helped, all the friends she had gathered.

"I failed" she whispered, quietly, her throat closing, before she let out a sob that felt shameful to her ears. She was the warrior of light, the one to bring peace and hope to all, and here she was, crying. But after so long being strong, she could not help herself. The sobs and tears came without her command, and she could hear a ringing sound in her ear, while voices inside her head took many tones, laughing at her, telling her she failed, that it would all be for nothing.

Arms wrapped around her, tight and warm, and she leaned into them as she cried, pressing her face against the softness of their neck, noticing soon that it was Lyse hugging her again. The ringing seemed to stop, enough to hear her speak, one of her hands caressing her head, brushing her hair.

"Krys, no, don't say that, never say that" Lyse spoke, gently and softly but also with a certainty that she had never heard before. Her voice seemed to be watery too, and the feeling of Lyse's tears on Krys' shoulder were enough to make her know that she was crying too. "You did not fail, you never failed, you did so much for us!"

"I failed! I failed you, I failed the Scions, I failed my duty, I failed everything!" she cried out, releasing all the emotions she kept hidden inside her. "I let them go, Lyse! The Scions are gone! Thancred, Y'shtola, Urianger, Alphinaud, Alisaie! They are all gone, and it's all my fault! Zenos is still alive and it's all my fault! Ala Mhigo, Doma, Eorzea, we are all in danger and it is my fault! Because I failed! I failed... I failed you all..."

Her yells turned into sobs, and sobs turned into tears, until she seemed settled enough to just lay down against Lyse, dying of tiredness and embarrassment. What would they think of her? Her friends, the leaders of their nations, seeing the Warrior of Light crumbling down before them? She did not deserve her title, her friends. She deserved nothing.

And yet, Lyse's arms never pulled away. She felt a smaller pair wrapping around her middle, Tataru's comforting smell of baked goods filling in her nose. More hands were placed around her, on her shoulders, her arms, even one on her head, and when she looked up, all of them were close to her, touching her in some way, watching her closely. She looked at them all, at Aymeric and Estinien, and their typical Elezen seriousness; at Hien and Cid, and their gentle smiles; at Yugiri, her uncertain gaze being replaced by a comforting one, and even Raubahn , his hand on her head, smiling fondly down at Krys.

"You have never failed them, and you have never failed us" he said, his voice warm and gentle, and her eyes teared up again at him, shaking her head as she closed her eyes.

"I wish I could be stronger... for all of you... for all my friends..."

"You could not be any stronger, my friend" Hien said, squeezing her shoulder, and when she looked at him, he smiled in that playful way of his. "You saved Lyse, Yugiri and I from Zenos' certain blow. And so many other times, here or in Doma."

"And you saved us as well, and became friends with Ishgard, before we were even friends of ourselves" Aymeric assured, gently rubbing her shoulder with his thumb.

"We all have plenty to thank you for" Tataru mumbled, her eyes filled with tears. "And we love you, you hear that?! You could never fail us, even if you lost all the battles! Because we love you a lot!"

The rest of the group nodded, and Krys felt her heart warm and squeeze up, even though she knew she was not worth their love and care. She looked at Lyse, who gave her a nod, and kissed her forehead gently, a smile on her pretty face.

"We will always be here for you. And I know we will find a way of finding the others, okay? Now, you should rest until you are healed. The battle is over, and we are not going anywhere."

Krys nodded, slowly, sniffling softly, before she laid her head against Lyse once more and looked at the others blushing a little but deciding against hiding her wishes once more.

"I want company... at all times" she said, and they all nodded, Raubahn even laughing as he rubbed her hair again affectionally.

"I am pretty sure you will have enough company. After all, there are some more guests that wish to see you" Aymeric said, and Krys gave him a nod before he made his way outside, calling for the next group. The firsts that came were the Scions, Hoary and Coutenet first in line, giving her praises and good wishes, babbling all about what they and Krile had discovered with master Matoya. Then, came in some of her friends from the resistance, both from Doma and Ala Mhigo. Last but not least, apparently taking the longest to arrive, were the Fortemps family, all the way from Ishgard to the edges of Ala Mhigo borders, Emmanelein rushing to hug her and babbling all about what he had heard of her battles, while Count Edmont and Artoirel remained behind, waiting their turn.

Once the brothers were done, they left Edmont alone with her, and she stared at the man who had received her in his home as a child of his own, his smile gentle as he sat down, the two of them alone in the small chambers.

"Lord Aymeric told me about what happened before our arrival" Edmont said, calmly, and Krys looked away in shame, unable to lie to him. "I want you to know that I am proud of you, for allowing yourself to feel so deeply, and for allowing others to aid you in your moment of weakness."

"I had no other choice" she whispered, looking down at her hands, the weight of her actions finally coming to her. "I was... I am desperate, alone... my friends are gone and I failed on my duty... Zenos is still alive, Ala Mhigo and Doma are in danger..."

"You did what you could" Edmont assured, reaching out and taking her hand on his. She looked at him, blushing and holding it back, never feeling more at home than when she was around him. "I believe that in a time like this, my son would say that while a knight's duty is to serve and die for their homeland, a warrior's duty is to survive, persevere, and give others a chance to grow... and that is what you did. That is what you do. Do not feel guilty for not being able to win every battle, for you have yet not lost the war."

Krys' eyes teared up again, and she nodded, leaning forward and gently pulling the elezen into a hug, sighing against his shoulder as he hugged her back, brushing her back.

"Thank you, Lord Edmont..."

"Do not thank me, for doing the minimal" he whispered, gently kissing her head and brushing her hair. "Just use this time to regain your strength... and come back, brighter than ever, my dear."

Krys nodded, closing her eyes, and allowing the comforting feeling of 'home' fill her chest. They remained hugged until she felt sleep taking over, and nuzzling against his comfy and fuzzy fur coat, she allowed herself some well deserved rest.

She knew she would not wake up alone, and that... was all she wanted.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos are appreciated!!!


End file.
